


My Guardian Angel

by thedollars666



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Guardian Angels, Angst, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:14:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23171527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedollars666/pseuds/thedollars666
Summary: He doesn’t know how he died, who or what was responsible, the only thing he knows is that he doesn’t want to suffer the consequences of his past actions. Izaya is given a second chance - by someone who claims to be his guardian angel - to correct his mistakes before he moves on. However, to do so, he must become a guardian angel himself. Guarding a life and making amends with them shouldn’t be too hard right?
Relationships: Heiwajima Shizuo/Orihara Izaya
Comments: 31
Kudos: 56





	1. Dead

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the first chapter to 1/3 of my brand news stories. Ideas that I've been working on for a while. I hope you like it :)

Izaya opened his eyes to an extremely bright light; stepping forward, it felt like he was floating, nothing solid beneath him. As he looked at his surroundings, he frowned, nothing but a white void appeared in his view. What just happened? He tried to remember what he was doing before this, where he had been…. he couldn’t remember anything! “This has to be a dream,” he muttered to himself, only, he didn’t remember going to sleep at all. He turned in a full circle, there was – nothing. Swiping a hand through his raven hair, he tried to keep calm, this wasn’t the first time he had been in trouble. “I just have to look for a way out.”

“You’re right, there is a way out.”

Izaya jumped and spun around, he reached into his pocket – no switchblade! Narrowing his eyes, he took a step back, he wouldn’t let his guard down, he would fight them off bare handed if he had to. There was a laugh then, and it didn’t sound at all threatening, where had he heard that laugh before?

Then she appeared, Izaya’s eyes widened upon realization –

It was that woman!

“You-” she walked toward him with a somewhat sad smile on her face. “It’s you – you’re that old woman from before….” Izaya frowned, because he couldn’t even remember where he had seen her.

“Oh dear, I had hoped I might have been wrong this time.” Izaya placed his hands in his pockets, as if hoping that his knife might be there after all. The woman chuckled at him and he glared at her with irritation. “There are no weapons on your person, but do you really think you would need them?”

Izaya glanced around again, he had a million questions to ask, but he had no idea where to begin. This place, it was so – lonely, he couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness, he didn’t want to be here! Turning back to the woman, he tried his best to laugh, but his voice crackled. “Are you going to tell me what I’m doing here?”

She tilted her head and then looked around them; with a sigh, she smiled at him. “You don’t like it here?”

Izaya raised an eyebrow, now he really was starting to think she was insane. Had she fucking kidnapped him? What the hell was with that smile! This was really it wasn’t it? This was how he was going to die, kidnapped by an old woman inside a seemingly endless room. He laughed, because he just couldn’t do anything else but. “I guess looks can be deceiving after all, I certainly wasn’t expecting this outcome. I’m a little shocked, who knew I would be offed by an old woman. You’ll have to help me out though, I’m having a hard time remembering our encounter, what’s your reason for revenge?” he laughed again, this was ridiculous!

The woman shook her head, she could only imagine how foggy his mind probably was. “Your memory will come back to you eventually,” she said.

Izaya tilted his head with a side grin. “Is that your way of saying I’ve been drugged? Is that how you managed to capture me, it’s a a little original, but congratulations.”

“Would you please be quiet, sheesh. I never kidnapped you, and I’m most certainly not here to kill you.” Izaya frowned, his grin faded, his heart was – wait. Slowly, he lifted his hand up to his chest, laid his palm over his left side. She watched him for a moment, he then gave her a questioning look, and she suspected that he might have figured it out, so she nodded. “You’re dead.”

Izaya’s eyes widened, no no no no, it couldn’t be! How the – fuck no! his eyes narrowed; how dare she say something like that! He dashed forward and grabbed the old woman by her blue dress. “You’re lying!”

She didn’t react to his anger, because as she looked into his eyes, she could see them glisten. It was as if he already knew, he wasn’t naïve, he had great perceptiveness, she wasn’t about to let this one go, not without doing something. She wanted to help him, from the moment she saw him, he was an open book to her. “I’m sorry,” she told him, and she truly meant that. “I knew this would happen.”

Izaya didn’t let her go, he wasn’t going to believe her, this had to be some cruel type of revenge. Despite thinking this, he couldn’t help but respond to her statement, “You – are you telling me that you knew I was going to – and you didn’t say anything?”

She remained calm, still unaffected by his anger; she gave him a brief smile. “But I did warn you, I told you to heed my warnings, do you remember that?” Izaya frowned, he searched through his memories, tried to pinpoint when it was exactly that he had met her. “It’s okay you know, as I said, your memory will return soon. Do you know your name?”

Izaya looked up at her and snorted. “My memory isn’t that foggy.”

She gave him a knowing grin. “Then would you care to tell me what it is?”

Izaya opened his mouth to speak, and then – nothing, he clenched a fist, it was right there, right on the tip of his tongue! “I – I don’t know….” How could he not even remember his own name!? _she probably already knows it anyway._

“Don’t worry, this happens.”

Izaya blinked at her and then he got annoyed. “What do you mean by that?” his eyes then widened, something she had said earlier, began to sink in. “I’m really dead, aren’t i?”

She expressed a look of sympathy and slowly nodded. “Not all your memory is foggy, you were rather adamant that this must be a type of revenge, therefore you know deep down that you deserve it.”

Izaya snorted and placed his hands in his jacket. “I’m not that transparent.”

The woman chuckled. “Oh you are, you really are. You’re one crazy man, you know that?” she smiled. “You’ve done a lot of bad things, and you know it.”

He shrugged. “Maybe I have, but not everyone I messed with was innocent.”

She then laughed louder. “Is that your justified argument?”

Izaya grinned. “Not really, I don’t care either way, innocent or not – they’re still humans, and human beings are fascinating no matter who they are.”

The woman’s smile widened. “Is that so?”

Izaya rolled his eyes. “I love humans, that’s all. There’s no justification, I put anyone in a situation for my own personal amusement, I just like to see how they handle it.”

She chuckled and shook her head. “You can say what you want, but I know you’re lying, and far be it for me to convince you of that.”

Izaya stared at her, this woman, she was insane – that was really all there was to it. This was all just a strange dream, or maybe he really had been drugged and kidnapped, who’s to say he wasn’t hallucinating right now? He smirked then, what did it matter? She was human, he might as well have some fun, even if it was something his mind was creating. “Are you going to tell me that this place is the doorway to heaven or hell?”

The woman sighed, she knew he was starting to disbelieve her again, and what she was about to say was probably not going to convince him either. “This place, is actually a representation of your soul.”

Blank –

And then –

He laughed, loudly. Honestly, he had never heard something so – desperate. “I have to admit, you almost had me convinced there.”

She ignored him and looked into the endless void above them. “It’s lonely.” Izaya stopped laughing, because what she said cut him deeper than he thought it would. He had felt it himself, when he first woke up in this place, he didn’t want to be here. It was as though every part of his being was part of this void, just – there. All the emptiness, all of the negativity he kept locked out of his heart or tried his best to. “Nobody likes to see what really lies deep within their soul, one of the reasons why those I help prefer an alternative.”

Izaya snorted.

“Given my options, I don’t see a whole lot of alternatives,” he then registered the other thing she said. “Others?”

She smiled and nodded. “I’m a guardian angel, thought that much would have been obvious by now.”

Izaya stared at her in surprise, at first, he thought she was just crazy. Now, he wondered just how fucked up his mind must be, hallucinating guardian angels? If he ever got out of this mess, he was going straight to a doctor to – doctor! “Shinra,” He voiced quietly with a thoughtful frown.

“Who is Shinra? Is that your name?”

Izaya shook his head. “No, he’s – he’s a friend of mine actually,” he avoided her gaze. “He’s the only one I have, the only one I would ever consider a friend.” Then he huffed a laugh, damn it, this place was making him vulnerable.

“I see, and do you remember your name?”

Izaya looked at her then, and suddenly, it just came to him. “My name is Izaya Orihara.” She nodded with a smile of approval, Izaya frowned. “You knew, didn’t you.”

The woman walked toward him as she replied, “I did, but it is always best to have the other remember on their own.” She held her hand out to him, he looked at it with scepticism and she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “I know you don’t trust anyone Izaya, but unfortunately you don’t have a choice this time, unless you want to stay inside your soul some more?”

Izaya hesitated, he lifted his hand toward her and then stopped. “Where am I going?”

“Where would you like to go?”

He opened his mouth to reply, but he wondered if her question was a trick one.

Realizing that he wasn’t going to answer, she decided that she was going to have to be a lot harsher with him, she didn’t like it, but what else could she do to make him realize the seriousness of the situation? “Even if I do end up in a hell surrounded by pain, as long as I get to exist, I wouldn’t care,” Izaya’s eyes widened, because what she said just now…. “Do you remember that? It came from your very mouth, therefore where you go doesn’t matter does it?”

Izaya began to panic, she couldn’t mean – “Wait!” utter desperation in his voice and then –

Searing hot pain burned across his skin, sharp jolts of agony pierced through him over and over. He screamed loudly, but he was ignored, he tried to open his eyes, but the heat burned them, causing his eyes to water. Wrapping his arms around himself, he tried to block out the pain, but it was too intense. For a split second, he thought it was over, he gasped trying to breathe. It was not over, the pain began again, but this time – from the inside. Izaya cried out, tears falling from his face, he didn’t want this – he just – he just wanted to end. “Let me go!!”

With a heavy gasp, Izaya was thrown back into the safety of the white void that was his soul. He crouched low, whimpering, arms wrapped around himself tightly, he was shaking…. he never imagined experiencing something so – there wasn’t even a word he could think of to describe it. A hand touched his shoulder and he startled, sitting up with a quick move that caused him headrush. The same hand then found its way to his own, and he realised it was the woman sitting in front of him. “You’re okay Izaya, it’s over now,” she said in a calming sooth voice. “I’m very sorry for putting you through that, but please understand, I just wanted to make you see….” Izaya gently pulled his hand away, still slightly shaking as he pushed himself to his feet. She rose with him and gently touched his arm before speaking again, “That isn’t what you truly want.”

Taking a deep breath, Izaya placed his shaking hands in his jacket. “No….”

“I don’t wish that fate for you either Izaya, this is why you’re here, I want to help you. I can’t bring you back to life, but I can help you move on peacefully.”

Izaya looked at her, and for the first time, he truly understood what she meant. He was really dead, wasn’t he? There was nothing he could do about that now, but if what she said was true also, could he really move on peacefully, did he deserve to? An amused thought came into his head then, and he chuckled. “Is this where you tell me that you’re going to help me earn my wings?” it was meant to be a joke, because there was still a lingering doubt in his mind that this was all too – unrealistic.

“In simple terms, yes I am. I’m certainly not going to take you to Valhalla.”

Izaya gasped then, eyes wide as he remembered, he remembered how he met her.

_“You there, spare me a moment, would you?”_

_Izaya glanced at the table situated in the right corner of the hallway he was in. There was a woman, old looking, wearing a light blue dress, large hooped earrings, and her hair was tied back with a bandana. Izaya snorted when he saw what was in her possession on the table she occupied. “I’m busy right now.” Damn, now he wanted to humour her, he just couldn’t help it, he could have some serious fun with someone like her. “All right,” he said as he walked over to her. “You have my attention.”_

_The old woman smiled at him and held her hands out to the crystal ball. Izaya rolled his eyes, sometimes he thought his humans were just a few cards short of a full deck. “There is a bleak future awaiting you, heed this warning of danger not to be taken lightly.”_

_Izaya laughed. “I just bet you say that to everyone to keep things interesting.” He laughed, because the bleak future she was talking about, hadn’t been ruled out, in fact, there was a fifty percent chance of it being inevitable. Speaking of his future, he decided to humour her just a little further. “You wouldn’t happen to see a road that looks like it might lead somewhere…. Like, say, Valhalla?”_

_The old woman laughed. “Valhalla!? Ha! You’re living in a fantasy kid!”_

_Izaya sneered then, leaning closer to her, though he kept his grin in place and said, “Coming from the one that claims to tell fortunes?”_

_The woman looked at him, not laughing anymore. “I only speak the truth, Izaya Orihara.”_

_Izaya’s eyes widened, shit! “You – you know who I am?”_

_She smiled at him and nodded, “I do indeed. I recommend that you heed my warnings, also,” she leaned forward. “Your very soul will depend on someone you least expect.”_

Okay, maybe not so much a joke, she wasn’t kidding. He frowned, and a tremor ran through his body when he thought about what had just happened to him. Anything was better than that. He then shrugged, a grin forming on his face, if only to hide his fear. “So, what do I have to do to, ‘earn my wings?’”

The woman smiled, she nodded with happiness, because she had finally gotten through to him. “Let’s get out of here first, shall we?” she then held her hand out, just like before. She watched him hesitate again, but this time she just grabbed his without waiting. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”

“How can you say that so casually to a dead person?”

She laughed. “Well, at least you’re a lot quicker at accepting it then others. Good for you.”

Before Izaya could reply, everything went black, complete darkness overcoming him.


	2. Some rules apply, others not so much

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those that showed an interest in the first chapter of this story far :)

Within a few seconds, he opened his eyes to find his surroundings had changed. They were outside! Like, really outside, and not just a random part of the world outside, they were in Tokyo! Izaya gasped lightly as he stepped forward, in fact, they were in Ikebukuro! He’d recognise the city, memory loss or not. Actually, his memory…. It was coming back to him, just like the woman said.

“I figured this might help clear the rest of your foggy memories, with a few minor exceptions.”

Izaya acknowledged her statement, but he didn’t reply, he walked up to the railing of the rooftop they were on. “This place….”

The woman stepped beside him, following his gaze to the ground below. “Recognisable?”

Izaya nodded. “I brought a high-school girl here once.”

She grinned and nudged him. “Aren’t we the lucky one.”

Izaya looked at her and then realized what she was getting at, he rolled his eyes. “Not like that, I was twenty-two at the time. I – I tricked her into thinking that I wanted to commit suicide with her, I had her kidnapped to make her realise that she didn’t actually want to die, and then I had her rescued.”

“Hmmm, I don’t think it is any different to what I did to you, to make you realise you didn’t want to end up in hell.”

Izaya shook his head. “I don’t think it’s quite the same. I just wanted to see the look on her face when I made her realise that she didn’t want to die. All I did was manipulate her into a false situation.” Izaya chuckled then. “Is this supposed to prepare me for atonement? Am I to make amends with all the people I’ve wronged?”

The woman laughed. “I can see why you would think so, and it would make sense too. However, that’ll take a hell of a long time, and quite frankly I really don’t have the patience.”

Izaya snorted. “You’re a guardian angel and you don’t have patience?”

“Oh I have patience, just not the kind to deal with yours.”

Izaya raised an eyebrow. “I’m not even going to pretend to understand what that means.”

She grinned at that. “Probably for the best, you’ll soon see. Anyway, you’re not too far off, because in order to repent and gain your wings, making amends is a crucial part of it. I think visiting every person you’ve wronged sounds too much like, ‘the ghosts of Christmas past’ to me, you’re hardly a scrooge.”

“I’m just going to ignore that very odd reference. Also, why is it that whenever you speak of those I’ve wronged, do you make it sound like I tormented an entire city. I’m not _that_ bad, I’m hardly a villain.”

She chuckled at the pout that crept on his face, she fricking loved this guy, she hadn’t met someone like him in ages! “If you say so. Now, back to my point, it’ll be too easy to focus on them as a whole, because quite frankly, some of them really aren’t that bad, and they’ll get over it, or they should.”

Izaya was surprised by her statement, he was quite sure that wasn’t what a guardian angel should say. “So how am I supposed to make amends?”

“By protecting a specific individual, someone whom you caused the most suffering. This person is a constant in your life, and it is with this person that you will find redemption.”

Izaya placed his hands in his pockets, he already knew who she was talking about. “He’s extremely stubborn, I hardly think he’s going to believe me, nor will he accept anything I say as the truth.”

She looked at him for a moment, staring intently into his eyes, making him feel slightly uneasy. Then she chuckled. “It’s not Masaomi,” she said, causing Izaya to gape at her.

“How did you-”

“Please, you’re like an open book to me now, I’m your angel Izaya, I could read your thoughts if I truly wanted to.”

Izaya grimaced. “That’s very disturbing.”

She laughed. “Relax, I don’t do it all the time, just when I need to, I respect my people’s privacy.”

Izaya half grinned at her. “Well forgive me, I really don’t believe you.”

“In any case, it’s not Masaomi, good guess though, you really messed with him.”

Izaya frowned and his eyes averted from her, then he sighed as a thought came to him. “If you knew all this, then why did you have me explain about what happened here?”

She smiled. “To see if there was any regret in your story.”

Izaya snorted. “There wasn’t.”

“Maybe not in words, but it was in your tone, and that’s good enough, means we’re on the right track at least.”

Izaya couldn’t help but frown at her in annoyance, how very clever of her. Now he knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of manipulation, because he was sure that’s just what she did. “I have some questions that I need to ask, in order for me to fully understand the situation.”

“Shoot. I’ll answer them if I can.”

“I’m dead, right?”

“You are.”

“Am I a ghost?”

“Sort of.”

“How can you be sort of a ghost?”

“Okay, allow me to explain some rules to you, maybe that will help you understand, though they’re more like guidelines.” She watched him nod and then continued. “I’m not allowed to tell you how you died; I’m not allowed to tell you who you are to protect. To make amends, you will become they’re guardian angel, just like I am yours. Oh and just to clarify, I’ll know if you’re pretending by the way,” she grinned at him when he hunched slightly, because she knew that plan had just crossed his mind, but she couldn’t help but laugh at his guilty face. “Also, they have to forgive you too.”

Izaya pulled a face, it sounded like he was doomed, who the hell was going to forgive him? Especially if it was going to help him.

“I have faith in you! So don’t give me that look of defeat already.”

Izaya huffed. “Firstly, stop reading my mind, it’s creepy. Secondly, do I at least get a hint of this person? Also, since you’ve quite literally invaded my privacy, the least you can do is tell me your name.”

A loud laugh escaped her before she replied, “My name is Aya Yoshimura. You can call me Aya, since I, ‘invaded your privacy’ and all,” Izaya rolled his eyes. “As for the hint, the only thing I can tell you that might help, the person you will be guarding is the only one who can see you.”

Izaya gave her a blank stare, what she said wasn’t at all helpful, that could quite possibly be anyone! “Thank you for that oh so helpful hint,” he said with a slight grin, “just don’t tell me I have a time limit.”

Aya huffed a laugh. “No time limit, you’re dead, dead don’t care for the time.”

_Obviously, but did she have to be so blunt about it?_

“You can even take a few days to get your thoughts together, get some perspective, maybe there are a few close to you that you might like to see again before you go.”

Izaya chuckled. “I hardly doubt that. I will take your advice though and clear my thoughts for a while.”

Aya nodded with a smile, she then lay her hand on his shoulder. “Good luck.”

“Wait. I know you can’t tell me how I died, but – what if I remember myself later on, will that be considered a rule break?”

Aya shook her head. “Don’t worry, a lot of people remember their deaths eventually. Just remember, even if you do, you can’t do anything. I should have mentioned this before Izaya, no one can see you, or hear you but – you have the abilities to interact with them physically. So please, please be careful, because if you harm anyone intentionally, however small, there really will be nothing I can do to help you then.”

Izaya didn’t know how to feel about this new information, his task was getting more and more difficult every time she spoke. His expression remained passive, and he tried his best to keep his thoughts clear when he asked, “Just so I’m clear, because we both know I really don’t want to end up in hell, what counts as harmful?”

Aya gave him a thoughtful frown, she could tell he was trying to hide his thoughts from her, but he underestimated her ability. Aya stepped close to him and flicked him on the forehead, Izaya pouted and rubbed the spot she had assaulted. “If you so much as flick a person, that counts.”

Izaya raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? That’s harsh.”

Aya looked at him, the amusement gone from her eyes. “I’m serious Izaya, this is one rule you must not break.”

Izaya nodded, he could tell she meant that. “You said that the only one that can see me is the one I’m supposed to protect, can they themselves interact physically with me?”

“No, only you.”

“This whole protection part, if I’m not allowed to harm anyone, how am I supposed to help them?”

Aya chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re a clever kid Izaya, you’ll figure that out pretty quickly. I have a lot of confidence in you.”

Izaya sighed inwardly. _At least one of us does._

“Just follow the rule with extreme caution and you will be fine. Oh, one more thing?”

Izaya grinned. “Just one more?”

She huffed in annoyance and then said, “No funny business either, that means no form of intimacy, it’s not a rule, it’s more for my benefit. I have to watch over you carefully, and I would rather not see that.”

Izaya blushed profusely, what kind of person did she think he was!? “I’m very sure you don’t need to worry about that…”

Aya chuckled at his embarrassment toward her statement. “It happens.”

Embarrassment forgotten, Izaya grinned at her. “Lucky for you that I hold no desires of attraction to an individual human, I love _all_ humans, and that is purely platonic.”

“Just putting it out there. Okay, do you have any more questions, or do you feel ready?”

Izaya took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m ready.”

……………………………

For the first few hours, Izaya remained on the roof after Aya had left, he needed time to himself. The thought of being dead caught up to him and he couldn’t help but feel saddened by that. Who wouldn’t? and that was not thought in a way that would inflate his ego, anyone would be saddened by their own death. The cold hard truth though, was that no one would be saddened by _his_ death. That’s right, he wouldn’t be missed at all, he didn’t know why that bothered him, it had never done so before. Then again, he never thought about it, because he had always told himself that he didn’t care if everyone hated him, he would still love them. Izaya even lied to himself, just to make himself feel better, to stop him from admitting the truth. The truth was that he wanted people to like him, he just didn’t understand why they didn’t.

If they could like someone like Shizuo, who was full of violence and destruction, why couldn’t they accept him for who he was? Had he himself caused this? Izaya expected it was the case, he was so focused on keeping everything away from his fragile heart, that he had let his obsession for humans take over entirely. If he avoided it all, then nothing could hurt him. Aya was right though, he was just lonely, which would explain that representation of his soul from before. He wanted friends, but at the same time he wanted to avoid everything, how screwed up was that.

Izaya leaned against the railing of the roof, glancing down at the bloodied spot on the ground. He was dead. Every time he thought about it, the more depressed he felt. It was a strange notion though, he felt like he was breathing as he let out a sigh, but yet he had no pulse. It was something he would have to get used to, and since there was no time limit, he had plenty of it to do so. Izaya started to wonder about what he could do, could he walk through walls, and how would he travel from place to place? He was willing to bet that he couldn’t fly or anything, because technically he didn’t have his wings yet. Was that how it worked? Izaya didn’t mind if he had to travel the normal way, he probably preferred it.

Looking back down at the ground below, another thought crossed his mind, if he jumped, would he even be able to die, since technically he was already dead. His fingers twitched with anticipation, he was almost tempted to try it, but what if he could die? If something happened to him now and he hadn’t completed his tasks, then would he just be sent below?

Izaya stepped back from the edge, the decision was made not to try it. So he didn’t have a time limit, but it wasn’t as though he could stay up here and mope forever. Well, he could, but for the type of person he was, he knew he’d get bored very quickly. It was time to see some humans, and the thought that he could wonder around with them without them seeing him, made him giddy with excitement. Perhaps he could even take the time to figure out how he died before he started looking for the person he was supposed to protect.

………………………..

Izaya skipped through the city, laughing to himself as he realised people really couldn’t see him. It was weird, because he shouldn’t be this happy over that fact, but he was incredibly amused. He jumped and swung around a lamppost, still laughing and then he stopped beside a café. A thought occurred to him then, he wasn’t doing anything unusual, because he would have acted this way even when they could see him. He glanced over at the round tables that were setup outside under the awning. Several people occupied the seats, either looking at their phones, or reading the newspaper – mostly the elder generation – or simply sitting there enjoying their lunch, or possibly breakfast. Izaya then realised he didn’t actually know what time it was, he didn’t have any of his phones, so he was going to have to rely on objects around him.

Walking in between the tables, he crouched low and raised his hand up under a newspaper. With a slight grin, he slapped it upwards, he did this to a younger woman, because if he did it to an elder and they went and died from a heart attack, he would probably fail his task. He wanted to have a little fun, but he wasn’t that stupid. The woman gasped and stood up from her chair quickly, the shock on her face and those around her was enough to cause Izaya to laugh loudly. They looked at the scene in confusion, the woman picked up her newspaper and shook it, as though something was going to fall out of it. Izaya grinned, still laughing, that was way too comical. He realised that he could indeed have some fun, as long as he thought about the rules very carefully before he did so. For example, if he kicked out a chair before someone sat on it, that would intentionally cause them harm, however little.

However –

Izaya chuckled as he grabbed the back of an empty chair, if he lifted up the chair without anyone in harms way, it would essentially be harmless. The people that occupied the seats all stood up with a yelp and began to freak out, thus causing them to scatter and run off. Izaya didn’t expect everyone to react that way, though that always amused him greatly when they did the unexpected, but it also annoyed him too. Izaya shrugged as he sat on one of the now empty tables, he was just a barrel of contradictions wasn’t he.

Izaya turned his head as a man who appeared to be the owner, stepped out of the café with a very confused look on his face. From his point of view, it probably looked like they had just vanished, leaving their unfinished food and beverages behind. “You’re probably wondering where all your customers have gone,” Izaya said as he stood up with a stretch. “sorry, that was way too tempting.” He then couldn’t help but step next to the owner and place his hand over the man’s shoulder. The owner jumped and spun around, looking for whoever had touched him, before he ran inside the café, slammed the door shut and flipped the open sign to closed. Izaya blinked, he couldn’t help but think the man’s reaction was just a slight bit dramatic. The raven chuckled to himself as he left the café, he became giddy again, the café incident gave him an idea. While he couldn’t spread rumours and create situations like he used to, he could still use his own situation to do so. Effectively, the rumours that were bound to spread, were going to be about him without them even knowing it.

For several hours, Izaya ran around Ikebukuro picking up random objects, or just touching people’s things. Some screamed, some were too scared to move, but mostly – as he expected – they filmed it all.

Izaya learned to adapt to what he could and couldn’t do very quickly, he played by the rules but also figured out their loopholes. He took the time to note the time of day and the date; and before he began to spread his own rumours, he took the time to see if there was anything he’d missed in his absence. There was no news about his death yet, it was understandable he supposed; depending on how he died, that might affect how the reports were displayed.

Izaya smirked when he caught a conversation between three high school girls. He leaned against the fountain they were sitting on; a role of his eyes was made though when he recognised them as none other then the three bullies from over a year ago. They really were empty headed idiots.

“I heard it was the café that was haunted, that the ghost of the previous owner was the cause,” he heard the middle one talk first as she typed on her phone.

“Well I heard that it’s the headless riders head, ya know, the ghost of it’s head. It’s now haunting Ikebukuro, looking for the body or something.”

Izaya laughed, well, that certainly was a very peculiar rumour. He walked away from them and found himself near the intersection that led into Toshima. Izaya frowned, because he suddenly became very familiar with a building opposite him. He crossed into the city and walked the distance, he stared up at the short structure, tilting his head in thought. He was almost certain he had been here before, what was it about this place that felt so familiar? He glanced at the door, he guessed now was the time to test his theory about walking through walls and doors. Izaya lifted his hand up and his palm lay flat on the door, with a frown he tried to concentrate to see if he could think his way through – maybe.

A small laugh beside him almost startled him, he glanced to his right and huffed when Aya appeared beside him. “You didn’t think I’d make it that easy for you, did you?” Was she serious? Izaya stared at her with a questioning look, she smiled. “I understand you a little better each time; it really is fun to mess with people.”

Izaya then glared at her. “Are you saying that I really can’t walk through solid matter?”

Aya shrugged. “Well, perhaps you could have, but that wouldn’t be much fun now, would it.”

Izaya clicked his tongue and shoved his hands in his pockets. “So you did this on purpose?”

Aya laughed. “Oh come on, you’ve just spent at least five hours scaring the hell out of people. Did you know that as we speak, people are referring you to, ‘the ghost of Ikebukuro?’ Izaya smirked, yes, he did know that, then his eyes widened in realisation.

“Are you telling me that this is some kind of disciplinary act?” was she seriously punishing him for what he did? He followed the damn rules, wasn’t he allowed to have any fun? He was dead after all.

Aya smirked. “I maybe your guardian angel, but I can’t help feel bad for the people that you’re scaring, while you technically get away with it.”

Izaya huffed and then hunched his shoulders. “It was harmless intent.”

Aya nodded with a smile and nudged him. “I know you’re probably feeling a little detached, so just try and keep your playful behaviour to a minimum.”

Izaya rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

“Though I do admire your quick thinking in regard to sticking by the rules, not everyone finds the loopholes, then again, not everyone receives the same rules.” Izaya cringed then, he didn’t want to know what happened to those who didn’t, he probably didn’t need to ask. Aya looked at the door and then back at Izaya. “You can still open the doors the old-fashioned way,” she chuckled at his annoyed expression, “you can even kick them down or break in through the window. She gasped when she realised her slip up and shoved him lightly. “Please try and refrain from doing that, just because it’s rude.”

Izaya huffed a laugh, but he nodded in understanding. It didn’t really bother him that he couldn’t zip through things, because it would be less of a reminder that he was dead. Izaya turned to say something to her but she had already gone again. It was slightly annoying that she could just turn up whenever she felt like it. With a sigh, he opened the door to the building, memories of this place soon came back to him.

“I remember now, I was on a job….”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do love writing the banter between Izaya and Aya. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	3. Auction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay safe everyone.
> 
> Ps: Most of this chapter is about the job Izaya took, when you see a line of xxxx it will be back to the present events. Just encase there's confusion :)

The room was large, split into two sections, chairs and dining tables spread out in the first section toward the front entrance. The floors were carpeted with a dark red colour, the furniture was light oak, with glass tabletops. A wide spread of food stretched out along the back wall on a long glass table, which had been covered in a white cloth. There were a few party attendants, if you will, walking around the first section, hosting the guests with utmost respect, of course they were, because all these, ‘guests’ were probably about to spend a ton of money for items they most likely knew nothing about. Half of them at most, owning expensive paintings or sculptures, or even rare relics, simply because they could. A few of these people though, looked like they knew what they were doing, were here for specific items, it was not their first time.

It was, however, Izaya’s.

Stood against the wall that divided the two sections, dressed in unusually formal attire, black suit and tie, he had never been to an auction before. He stood with his hands in his pockets, eyes glancing around the room, committing most of the people before him to memory. The suit felt uncomfortable, though perhaps it wasn’t the suit that was uncomfortable, it might have something to do with his missing switchblade that he usually kept in his pocket. This was not how he typically worked, sure, he had disguised himself before to get information, but right now, he felt like an undercover detective and not the information broker he was.

Izaya knew the reasons, he wasn’t disputing the job he’d been given, because this was a delicate situation. It was his own fault anyway, he himself had chosen this way to obtain what he needed to complete the job. It really looked like his only choice anyway, he just hadn’t deducted the security measures taken at the front entrance. Of course, he had researched this auction before making an appearance, though he had done so, after accepting the job. Izaya thought that the metal detector at the very start of the entrance was just slightly over the top, but he couldn’t blame them, because half of the people here were probably involved in illegal affairs.

The funny part was, the one he had accepted this job from, was part of a very well-known Yakuza group, called the Awakusu.

_“The cargo box was accepted by one of our operators on the dock, it was placed into a secured storage facility nearby for collection the next day,” Shiki explained with an annoyed frown to the raven haired male sitting opposite him. “When two of our men went to retrieve the box, it was missing, the storage facility was protected with an access code.”_

_Izaya shrugged lightly. “Access codes can be easy to hack if one knows what they’re doing.”_

_Shiki’s frown deepened. “They certainly knew what they were doing. They rewrote the code in order to get in, took us nearly three hours to fix it,” Izaya opened his mouth to make a comment, and Shiki knew he wasn’t going to like what came out, so he raised his hand to stop him. “I know what you’re thinking, so don’t annoy me with your smartass mouth, it wasn’t one of us.”_

_Izaya smirked, but he kept his mouth shut, at least from what he wanted to say. “What was in the box?” Shiki stared for a moment, contemplating certain details, whether he should reveal the information. Izaya chuckled slightly, he knew why Shiki hesitated, but the man wouldn’t have come to him if he had the slightest doubt of trust._ Must be important, _Izaya thought. “If I were to accept the job, I will need full disclosure, you don’t have to tell me what the contents is for, or even why you need them.” Izaya leant forward, his seatbelt stretching to accommodate his position. “If you’re worried about discretion on my part, you can always kill me.” They both knew that was an empty threat, Izaya had been their most reliable informant since the two had met six years ago, Shiki was practically Izaya’s boss, so to speak._

_Shiki sat back with a snort, sometimes he wondered why he had let Izaya get this confident, and yet – “The cargo held a singular piece of rare art, our boss obtained it four months ago, given it’s value, there were several precautions needed to be taken before it could be shipped.”_

_Izaya raised an eyebrow, he knew their guise was running an art gallery, but he couldn’t help wondering why they were this worried about it. “What’s so special about this piece of art?”_

_Shiki hesitated again, but it was in their best interest if Izaya knew the whole truth. “It’s a weapon.”_

_Izaya wasn’t expecting something quite that obvious. “A gun?”_

_Shiki shook his head. “A Katana. A rare one, only three of its kind were made.”_

_“If it’s so rare, why was the weapon not accompanied by an Awakusu member?”_

_Shiki sighed. “Because it was imported, the boss couldn’t risk being accused of smuggling on another’s territory.”_

_“That is a concern for him I suppose; how did he obtain this weapon?”_

_“It was an heirloom, passed down from clan members who wielded those Katana’s.”_

_“If only three were made, does that mean they were passed down between three clans?”_

_Shiki nodded. “That’s right. The one who had previously held the sword, passed on and our boss was sent a letter of notification. Concealing the weapon was necessary obviously, and I suspect the one who stole it knew it was a weapon.”_

_“What makes you say that?”_

_Shiki pulled out a photo from his jacket and handed it to Izaya. “We don’t know who the men in the photo are, at least, we don’t know their names. However, do you recognise the symbol on the jacket of the one in front?”_

_Izaya studied the picture, it was dark and the angle to which the image was captured wasn’t very good. Though the symbol that Shiki was pointing out, was easy to see. “It’s a chemical hazard label.”_

_Shiki nodded. “An obvious disguise; get me any information you can on this,” Shiki frowned. “Locate that art Izaya.”_

_Izaya looked at the photo and then back at Shiki. “What is the weapon concealed in?”_

_“A cane, made from pure gold, the story is that it belonged to an early emperor.”_

_Izaya smirked. “I’ll let you know what I come up with.”_   
  


The uniform of those in the photo that Shiki had shown him, was indeed a disguise, it was their camouflage guise, they wore this to avoid suspicion from the cops. Izaya’s information discovered them to be a group of highly skilled smugglers, who specialised in weapons. Their boss was named Ryouto Tsuda. He had heard of this man, Tsuda handled several illegal weapons being imported last year, though nothing was proven.

So, here he was, unarmed and waiting for the leader of the group to show himself. Izaya had discovered the group’s clever way of obtaining their rare stolen weapons. The leader would have a few of his men steal the smuggled goods, which were usually concealed in art, present them to a certain auction, and then buy it at its high value. It was a rather crafty way of not only hiding the stolen weapon, but a way of covering any tracks that linked to those who stole it.

Izaya was an informant to those outside of this world, thankfully, no one here knew that. The idea was to disguise himself as a rich bidder, there just to obtain more expensive art for his collection. Izaya wasn’t stupid enough to try and intercept the auction by placing the highest bid against the weapons leader, he was simply there to gain information about where it might be taken after. The Awakusu handled whatever they decided to do with said information once Izaya presented the facts.

Having such security measures at the entrance, was something of an enigma but given the fact that those here was probably part of dangerous groups of all kinds – despite this being an auction – the extra steps were necessary. It was true; upon entering, Izaya witnessed at least four people that had gone through the magnetometer, two concealed knives and two were hiding handguns. He mentally congratulated himself on his gathered information about the place before he tried to blend in.

It was obvious to anyone though, that this place of auction was hardly on the legal side, given the promise of those concealed weapons being returned to them at the end. Izaya could have kept his weapon with him, but he would rather not have risked anything that might link him with who he really was.

Izaya glanced over his shoulder into the second section of the room, there were several seats in place, positioned in front of a podium upon a large staging area. This would be where the auction took place. Along the side of the stage, there was a row of items, secured by a thick glass wall. Those would be the items to be sold at the auction this evening, Izaya could see the cane Shiki had described from where he stood. It wouldn’t hurt to get a closer look at it, or the other items for that matter. Since he was here as a bidder, it would look rather odd if he didn’t bid on anything, wouldn’t it?

Izaya stood in front of the glass wall, looking indirectly at the cane while he checked out the others. There was a painting of a wave, or to be precise, the great wave. A Hokusai’s painting published sometime between 1829-1833, the first print in Hokusai’s series thirty-six views of Mount Fuji.

There was an engraved vase stood on a wooden glass platform, a sculpture of an embracing male and female couple, another much larger painting which looked like it had been made on silk.

Some of these relics, Izaya wondered how they could be holding such high value, but then again, his understanding of art only went so far. He also wondered, just how many of these certain items, concealed much more illegal objects. “Got your eye on something?”

Izaya glanced to his left and a wave of excitement washed over him. _There you are._ His awaited weapons leader had arrived, though why he had chosen him to approach he didn’t know.

“You’re new,” the man simply said.

Oh, that made sense now, Izaya was technically new here, so it was only natural that someone of Tsuda’s reputation would look to engage in conversation with him. “I’m visiting from out of town, I heard about this place through a friend of mine.”

Tsuda then handed Izaya a glass of champagne, the raven took it politely and then Tsuda nodded toward the cane. “I’ve been searching for this piece of art for quite a long time.”

Izaya held the glass in between his middle fingers, he was fitting in quite nicely, surprising even himself. “It’s that rare?”

“Exceptionally so,” Tsuda turned to him and held his hand out. “I’m Ryouto Tsuda by the way.”

Izaya clasped his hand. “Nakura.”

“Pleasure. So, anything of interest to you here?”

“The cane is tempting,” Izaya smirked at the expression of worry on the man’s face. “What’s a little competition between fellow bidders?” Tsuda gave him a tight smile, though Izaya suspected he was probably trying to figure out if he was a threat. Izaya chuckled lightly. “You can relax, Mr Tsuda, I’m not interested in the cane. I was more inclined to that painting of the wave there, forgive my odd humour.”

Tsuda relaxed and nodded his approval, obviously Izaya had chosen a good piece. “A good piece of art to have in your collection, I have one myself.”

Izaya smiled. _I bet you do._ “Do you plan on displaying this cane, perhaps you might own your own gallery.”

The man laughed, though the amusement was replaced with a rather sinister edge to his tone. “This one is a little more personal, it’s for my own collection.”

Izaya nodded, half wondering if he planned to use the weapon hidden inside the cane. _Not my problem, I’m sure the Awakusu would have reobtained it by then._ Izaya didn’t really care about what any of them had planned, his job was to help get the weapon back to Shiki and therefore, it’s owner, Dougen Awakusu. Izaya hadn’t reported any of his findings to Shiki yet, he was wondering how far he could get first, to gather as much information as possible. _I might just complete this job a lot sooner than I thought._

The rest of the bidders soon joined them within the second section and Tsuda sent him a smirk. “Show time.”

………………………………

Izaya stood up once he was sure that all the items had been auctioned, now he knew for sure that Tsuda was in possession of the weapon. He was annoyed though, because now he owned a painting he didn’t even want, his intention was to play along, he wasn’t meant to win the damn thing!

Izaya sighed quietly as he glanced over at the painting he’d brought, being boxed up ready to be sent to his preferred address. _Damn it._ Izaya stepped into the first section, he needed to contact Shiki now, and to do that, he had to leave. They didn’t allow phones to be present in the room either, lest anyone try and cheat. Just as he was about to make his exit, his source of info called out to him.

“Mr Nakura,” Izaya turned to see Tsuda approach him with a smile. “I want to congratulate you, seems as if we both ended up with what we came here for.”

Izaya smiled, though inwardly he was really irritated. “It appears so, I should congratulate you as well.”

Tsuda grinned. “I am hosting a celebration party; I’d like to invite you.”

Izaya raised an eyebrow, what made him so special? “Why me?” he couldn’t help but voice that out loud, he was curious.

“I don’t know, something about you, you’re not like these other bidders.”

Izaya couldn’t help but be amused. _That’s because I’m not one._ “Maybe next time we cross paths, I have an early train to catch tomorrow.”

The man laughed. “Of course, because you’re out of town.”

Izaya kept his smile, though it sounded as though Tsuda didn’t quite believe him. “Goodnight.” He had no intention of staying any longer, the quicker he got the information to Shiki, the quicker he could finish the job. Though the man before him was somewhat fun to deal with, he was quite interesting.

Tsuda handed Izaya a small card. “My number, in case you change your mind, perhaps you could consider it a parting gift.”

……………………….

{You found the information in good time Izaya, I’m impressed,} Shiki spoke through the phone, and Izaya could tell he meant that, the surprise was unmistakable in his voice. Izaya sneered though, because he had just spent seventy thousand Yen on a fucking painting! He heard Shiki chuckle, and knew what he was laughing at. {We’ll reimburse you for the money you spent, along with your payment, you can even keep the painting.}

Izaya had a feeling Shiki was mocking him, but at least he would get the money back. “How do you plan to get the cane back from him?” he really didn’t care, but he had nothing else to do right now, so he was simply inquiring out of boredom.

………………………

For once, Izaya really hated being so inquisitive, really wished he hadn’t asked. Not only did he have to attend the party of Tsuda’s - to which he had been adamant to that he was not going to show up – he had further extended his job that Shiki had asked of him.

Of all the times he had felt envious about parties he hadn’t been invited to; this was one party he would have rather not minded being left out of. His part here wasn’t hard, all he had to do was place a seed of doubt in Tsuda’s mind about the worries of his chosen shipping method and offer an alternative. Celty Sturluson, aka, the courier. Tsuda would contact Celty to transport the cane to his preferred location; only it wouldn’t reach him at all, she would deliver it to Shiki instead. The plan was good, and Izaya didn’t have to worry about any of this linking back to him, his disguise was enough to hide his identity. Though If anyone recognised him here, this whole operation would fail. Izaya knew he could blab his way out, or simply flee before Tsuda even realised who he was, so the fallout would go to the Awakusu.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“That was when I met her…. I met Aya at the party, but she disappeared right after her warnings,” Izaya said to himself, watching a few people step through the

Magnetometer as he leaned against the wall. His hands were in his pockets, and if anyone could see him, he probably looked calm but – Izaya’s hands were shaking, he could feel a cold shiver creep up his spine.

Was Ryouto Tsuda responsible for his death?


	4. Regret

Izaya walked down the streets, back into Ikebukuro, it was raining now and yet, he wasn’t getting wet. Izaya would have been amused by that, had it have not been for his thoughts. His mind was too focused on his memories, he remembered the auction as clear as day – but he still couldn’t remember what happened after that, after he met Aya. The more he remembered though, the closer he was to figuring out who had killed him.

Finding out who was responsible wasn’t part of his task, he wasn’t going to earn his wings this way. Izaya sighed and frowned up at the sky, for a moment, he almost wished that he could feel the rain. He raised his arm up, opened his palm face up to the water, but he couldn’t feel anything. He clenched it into a fist, a deep sadness found its way into his chest, because it was moments like this that he was reminded of his fate. He was twenty-four dammit! He didn’t want this –

“I didn’t want to die,” he whispered slowly to himself, still staring up at the sky, clouded with grey, exactly the way he felt now. The amusement and excitement he felt before had gone, replaced with fear, disappointment, and maybe even regret. Regret. There was so much more he wanted to do, then he huffed a laugh, it was probably best for everyone that he didn’t get to see how his plans turned out. Perhaps it was even better for him, who knows how things might have gone down in the end, he might not have gotten this chance.

With another sigh, Izaya shook himself out of his sorrow for now, he could still have some fun while he was here. All he had done so far was mess around with people he didn’t know, spread a rumour – nothing he hadn’t done while he was alive. He remembered what Aya had said on the roof, that he might want to visit some people that he _did_ know, before he completed his task and really did move on. “Who knows, it might be just as fun.” Izaya looked up at a familiar building, he decided that Shinra would be the last on his list to visit, it seemed appropriate considering that’s how his life started to evolve.

Passing by the building, he walked a bit further on and soon spotted a familiar van instead. Izaya found himself smiling, he always thought that Kadota and his group were odd, but he felt as though they were part of the city. Kadota was one of the few people he never messed with, whether it was out of respect or whether he might have considered him a friend at one time. The van was parked near a curb, Kadota and Saburo were stood outside, leaning against the door. A grin formed on Izaya’s face, the door that portrayed a cute anime girl on it. He had heard about that incident before, back when the city became overrun with Saika’s, Shizuo had tore off the door to use it against one.

Izaya turned and then saw Erika and Walker emerge from the store behind him. A manga store, naturally, he should have known. It became obvious very quickly that neither one of these could see him, therefore, he wasn’t their guardian angel. Izaya leaned against the van to the side of them, watching with amusement as the two anime fanatics rambled on and on. There was something warm stirring within his chest, he didn’t know what it was, but he didn’t hate it. Izaya had a feeling, that even though he had died, and he would hopefully be able to move on in peace, the four right here, they would never change. It was comforting – he gasped, because he suddenly knew what this feeling in his chest was, it was the relief of knowing that someone he might care about would be okay.

Izaya shook the feeling away, since when did he ever care that much? What the hell was the point now anyway, it wasn’t like he could tell them even if he wanted to. There was a loud screeching sound that caught all of their attention, Izaya stepped away from the van to see for himself. From a short distance, he could see a car, it looked like it was steering off the road. The car was swaying left and right at a speed that was just way too fast for the city streets. Kadota and Saburo stared in shock, Walker had almost made his way toward them with whatever bags he was carrying. The male Otaku gasped at the sight and then Kadota shouted at them, “Everybody move away!” Izaya couldn’t believe it, the car was coming right at them! It was like the driver had lost control all together and – he squinted, was he asleep!?

Suddenly, the car skidded sideways, hit a hydron and span into the air. For a second, everyone watched in shock, but then – Izaya turned around, Erika was still standing across from them on the pavement, he looked back at the car. His eyes went wide. _It’s going to crash into her!_ Without a second thought, Izaya ran toward her, the car hit the pavement behind him and began skidding with a loud screech of metal. Izaya reached her just in time and pulled her to the side, out of harms way.

“Erika!” Walker cried out as they watched the car skid over right where she had been stood.

Izaya sighed in relief and quickly let her go before she noticed anything. Kadota, Walker and Saburo rushed over with worried expressions. “Are you okay!?” Kadota asked first, laying a hand on her shoulder. Erika nodded slowly and the others sighed with relief, Izaya could tell though, she looked so confused. Kadota picked out his phone and said, “Better call the police,” he looked over at the smoking car. “Or an ambulance.” He glanced back over to Erika. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

Erika sighed with a smile and said, “No, I’m fine.” Kadota wandered away from them to make the phone call. “That was weird, I felt as if – I swear something pulled me away from that car! It was so close to me and then – whoosh!”

Izaya chuckled.

Walker’s eyes then glinted in excitement before shouting, “Wow! Do you know what this means Erika!?” Erika looked at him with a slight puzzled expression, he was grinning from ear to ear, Kadota walked back over to them just in time to hear his explanation. Even Izaya was curious as to what he was going to say. Walker’s arms lifted up into the air above his head. “You were totally saved by the ghost of Ikebukuro!”

Kadota and Saburo blinked, they were stupefied. Erika on the other hand, her facial expression changed to match Walker’s and she jumped in excitement. “Wow! You are totally right! That’s so awesome!”

Kadota stuttered, “The ghost of what?”

Erika and Walker turned to him and spoke in unison. “The ghost of Ikebukuro!”

Walker then took charge of the explanation. “It’s this ghost that’s been going around annoying people, it first appeared at a café and scared a bunch of people by slapping their newspapers and lifting up chairs. Then, it appeared at the mall, moving furniture around and stuff. This is the first time it’s appeared and done something totally good!”

Izaya could only stand there and listen, he was aware of the impact his little fun had caused on the city, but what Walker had said just now –

He had done something good. For the first time in his life, he had done a good deed –

He placed a hand over his chest, the warmth in his chest was back, but it was stronger now.

“I thought those were just rumours spread by people for publicity or something,” Kadota said with a thoughtful frown.

Walker shook his head frantically. “No no no! it’s real! How else would you explain Erika’s safety?” Erika nodded fast with agreement.

Kadota shared a sceptical glance with Saburo and then sighed. “Well, in any case, it’s a relief that you’re not hurt.”

Izaya frowned, he looked at Erika, if he hadn’t of been here…... that car would have hit her for sure. He placed his hands in his jacket and walked away, confused by the way he felt about what he’d done.

“You know you didn’t have to make amends with them,” Aya said as she suddenly appeared at his side. “I didn’t expect you to save someone just because you wanted to.”

“Shut up,” he replied quickly, he knew she was teasing him, glancing at her and watching her grin at him. Izaya frowned and carried on walking, it wasn’t the fact he had chosen to save Erika that annoyed him, it wasn’t about choice. Izaya wasn’t about to stand there and watch someone he knew get crushed by a car, he’d have probably pulled her out of the way if he was physically there with them, probably. It was the emotion that annoyed him, he didn’t expect to feel this good over it.

“I know this might sound harsh, but these extra deeds won’t count toward your task.”

Izaya snorted, then rolled his eyes. “You’re right, that is harsh, but I didn’t – I didn’t do it for credit points, I don’t even think it was voluntary, at least – I just did it because I didn’t want anything bad to happen to her.”

Aya smiled and then nudged him. “Love interest?”

Izaya pulled a face. “Hardly. Is that all you think about? I really wonder what kind of person you think I am – I told you before, I-”

Aya waved her hand at him. “Yeah yeah, you love _all_ humans, but there has to be someone you might have had romantic entanglements with.”

Izaya shook his head, he shoved her away. “Why are you so set on my love life?”

Aya then grinned at him. “Were you a virgin?”

Izaya stopped walking altogether, he stared at her, facial expression one of surprise. The expression was a very clear, ‘what the fuck,’ no words needed to be uttered. “I’m really going to pretend you didn’t ask me that, you can go away now, so very far away from me.”

Aya laughed at the embarrassment he tried to hide from her and then stepped in front of him. “I already know the answer anyway.”

Izaya blushed and pushed past her. “You seriously have no understanding of privacy.” The woman laughed again as she followed after him. “Go away.”

“Mikage hm? I imagine she would be the boisterous type, would have to be to suit your personality.”

Izaya stopped walking again and glared at her, though he was still blushing. “Are you done?”

Aya gave him a sheepish grin and then nodded. “All right all right, I’ll stop teasing,” she said before giving him a pat on the back. “I’ll leave you alone again.”

Then she disappeared.

Izaya huffed as he continued walking, he had no idea where he was even going, he just wanted some time to think. Who even asked a question like that? And so damn casually too, he swore that she was the first one to embarrass him like that and thank god she would be the last too. Izaya stopped for a moment, he chewed his lip – briefly wondering when that had become a habit – a deep amount of regret filled his heart every time he thought about his last moments. He had lived them without even knowing it.

“Come! Eat sushi! It so fresh today!”

Izaya turned to his right, he hadn’t realised he’d walked that far, he was stood outside Russia Sushi. There was Simon, trying to hand out flyers as usual, Izaya smiled before sighing. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had his favourite sushi, well, whenever it was – it had been his last time. Simon was another one, someone who he had never caused any problems for. A distant memory filled his vision for a moment, of Simon holding a younger version of both himself and Shizuo, always trying to break up their fights. Back in high school, he used to force them into the restaurant and make them eat together. It obviously didn’t work, either Shizuo tried to throw a table at him, or the two would just sit in silence and as far from each other as possible. Actually, that time, was probably the closest Simon had come to getting them on a civilised level.

Izaya blinked away the memory, because he was just annoyed, no amount of regret was ever going to change how he felt about Shizuo. Izaya clenched his fists, he really did hate him, a sudden thought crossed his mind, one that he really wished hadn’t. he had completely tuned out Simon’s loud ranting about sushi, because all he could think about was – “What if it was Shizu-chan?”

Izaya walked away from the restaurant, a deep frown on his face, he couldn’t remember how he died, so wouldn’t it be possible? From all the times they had fought over the last nine or ten years, all the times Izaya got away from him barely without a scratch – the raven gritted his teeth. He didn’t know what he was angrier over, the fact that Shizuo was responsible, or the fact that he was annoyed that it was him. There was always a plan lingering at the back of his mind, to have the whole city watch as Shizuo proved just how much of a monster he was. Izaya provoking him to the point when the blond just snapped, too consumed with rage and – and he would kill him, before realising his mistake. Izaya was always going to win, either way, because if he died at the hands of Shizuo, then he would essentially take him down with him, and everyone would see he was a murderer.

Nothing but anger filled him though, and he didn’t know why that was. he’d always thought that if he died by Shizuo’s hand, he’d be at least happy to be able to prove he was right. He wasn’t happy, not even the slightest bit, Izaya was fuming.

No.

He needed to calm down, he couldn’t afford to get angry, because if acted out of anger – nothing would end well for him. Nothing could be proven though; he couldn’t be completely sure that it was Shizuo that finally did him in. Izaya couldn’t remember, so if he did end up trying to get some sort of revenge on Shizuo, it might all be for nothing anyway. Even if Shizuo was responsible, he’d be damned if he let him be the cause of his failure too. Huh, actually he would, because if he failed, Izaya really would go to hell.

“I need a distraction,” he mumbled to himself, he turned his attention to the people on the streets again. Just then, he spotted a very familiar person, well, two in fact. Mairu and Kururi, his sisters. Izaya rolled his eyes, they were such a pain, always causing trouble, but if it would keep _him_ out of trouble, there was no harm in following them. He was supposed to be looking for one he had been sworn to protect after all, who knows, it might just be them. Though as he followed them, he couldn’t remember ever doing much to them in a way that he would need to make amends for.

He followed them for an hour, and for once, neither of them caused any trouble or even got into any. He zoned out a couple of times, all they did was talk about Shizuo’s brother, whining over him having a girlfriend now. He was at least six or so years older than them, it wasn’t as though they could actually date him. They stopped beside Ikebukuro park, the sun was just beginning to set, the light cold breeze was sifting through the sakura trees and then –

_Meow._

Izaya blinked, he could have sworn he heard something –

_Meow._

“Naw! Kururi look! That poor kitty is stuck in the tree!” Mairu shouted, running toward the large branch, Kururi followed and the two looked up into the high thick twigs. Izaya stood beside them, he could see the cat, it had gone quite high.

His first initial thought was, ‘I’m not saving a cat’ but then –

“Mairu is coming to save you!” he watched his sister pump her fist in the air and then raise her foot against the tree. Izaya looked up at the cat, Mairu was a good climber, but the damn thing was so high up.

“Maybe we should ask someone for help,” Kururi said in her usual calm voice.

Mairu pouted, turning her head to Kururi. “But it’s probably all cold and scared, I’ll be fine.” She then proceeded to pull herself up to the first branch, her foot steady in the tree’s grooves. Izaya watched her carefully, not realising that he was smiling, it had been a long time since he had watched either of his sisters climb a tree. Another distant memory, a time when he took them to this very park, back before he started high school. The trees were slightly smaller then, though they probably looked about the same size to them then as they did now. When was the last time he saw them anyway? He couldn’t even remember that much. “I got it!” he heard Mairu shout in triumph, Izaya shook his head, she never did fear much, even as a kid. “I just gotta get dow-”

Kururi’s eyes widened and she took a rushing step forward. “Mairu!” her normal calm personality forgotten as she feared for her sister’s safety. The branch Mairu had her foot on for balance had snapped, now she was just hanging there, one arm holding the cat, one holding onto the branch above her.

Izaya stared up at his sister in concern, wondering the best way to help her, he could climb up to get her, or jump up to catch her. Either way would look like she was floating, he’d rather not be that obvious, but if he didn’t do anything, his sister might be seriously hurt from the fall. It wasn’t as though he could shout up to her to let go and he’d catch her. A sudden snap and a loud yelp gave him no more time to consider his options. Izaya jumped as high as he could and then caught Mairu in his arms, along with the cat, bringing them back down to safety.

Kururi stared wide eyed, did her sister just float? Mairu breathed a sigh of relief, even though she was just as shocked. “What was that?” she asked as she looked at Kururi, the short haired girl just shook her head.

“You fell and then you were floating for a second, are you alright?”

Mairu nodded and then smiled down at the cat. “So is this little guy,” she said as she stroked the cat’s head. It purred for a moment and then caught sight of something, the girls watched it jump from Mairu’s arms and land on its feet. “What are you looking at kitty?”

Izaya’s eyes were wide, the cat was looking right at him! No way, there was no way that he was a guardian angel to a damn cat! The cat tried to rub its body against his leg, this was insane.

“Maybe it sees something we don’t?” Mairu said, then her eyes widened in excitement. “Kururi! It sees the ghost it sees the ghost! The ghost of Ikebukuro!”

Izaya looked up at them, and relief flooded through him, ah, so that was it. He remembered reading something about animals such as cats and dogs, seeing things a human couldn’t. Izaya knelt in front of the cat and scratched the top of its head, a smile upon his face. “Didn’t know that counted for guardian angels too.” The cat purred loudly and then he and the twins watched it scamper off, probably to wherever it lived.

“I was saved by Ikebukuro’s ghost! That’s so cool!” Kururi managed to get out of her sister’s grip, she walked toward the spot where the cat was stood before. Even though she didn’t know it, she was looking straight up at Izaya.

Izaya stared down at her, she smiled at him, even though she wasn’t, not really. “Thank you for saving my sister,” she spoke softly and Izaya felt his heart sink, because at that moment, he wanted to reach up and just – embrace her. His fists clenched by his sides, he told Namie once that he hated them, but that was only to make sure no one knew the truth. He made quite the believable statement too. They hadn’t been overly close, at least, not since he left high school, but that didn’t mean he never cared about them at all.

“You’re welcome, Kururi,” Izaya said before he bolted from the park, before his emotions got the better of him, before more regret filled his heart.

……………………………….

It was dark now; the city lights were brightly lit, and the streets were filled with nightlife. Izaya took his mind off his sisters by messing around with a few other people. A shop keeper who thought his magazines were out to get him, two friends that were playing chess who now thought each other was cheating. Izaya grinned, that certainly cheered him up, he stretched and pondered the thought that he didn’t need sleep, not that he ever really was one to sleep long hours. He could wander around the city twenty-four seven, gathering information and exceed his own limits. He could have, were it not for his situation. All he could do now was observe and do absolutely nothing. Maybe not nothing, because saving his sister and Erika today had proved to be something, he actually felt good about those.

There had to be something else he could do, something far more entertaining, at least one last thing before he found his task. Then he spotted him. Izaya’s grin formed into a dark smirk. He made his way toward the tall man with blond hair, wearing a bartender suit as usual. Oh he was going to have so much fun with him. Shizuo was with Tom, no surprise there, he had his back turned which was even more perfect. Izaya stood right behind him, he didn’t even have to care about being heard or hit with anything. The raven laughed. “Ah~ to be in Ikebukuro, standing here and there’s not a thing you can do about it,” Izaya bared teeth as his smirk widened, not noticing the blond tense with clenched fists as he raised a finger and tapped him on the back with his finger. “Brute.”

All of a sudden, Shizuo span around, eyes wide with anger as he reached for a signpost.

Izaya’s grin faded completely, staring into Shizuo’s eyes that were looking directly at him.

It couldn’t be!

Izaya glanced behind at Tom, the man looked so confused as to what had made his friend so angry.

“Flea!”

Izaya looked back at Shizuo, eyes going wide.

“Shizu-chan…. You can see me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully it will get more interesting from this point now that Shizuo is finally in the chapters :D


	5. Convincing Shizu-chan part 1

Izaya stared into the wide angry eyes of his enemy, the eyes that were unmistakably trying to burn him asunder, and his body simply froze at what that meant for him. 

In the last several hours, quite possibly even a full day, he had searched the city for his assigned human, and not once did Shizuo Heiwajima cross his mind. This had to be a joke! Another ridiculous punishment from Aya for messing with that shopkeeper because she was annoying like that. Perhaps the real human had yet to be found, and Shizuo seeing him just now was a fluke. _This can’t be happening_ , he thought as he took a subconscious step back when Shizuo moved toward him. _I have to run, I can’t let him –_

“You’re dead flea!” 

Izaya’s eyes darted to the sign held in Shizuo’s hand and watched it bend impressively before being ripped from the ground. Of course, Izaya knew that the blond would no longer be able to hit him with it, but being exposed for what he had become wouldn’t bode well for either of them right now. So, ignoring his surprise for the moment, Izaya placed a usual grin on his face and took another two steps back. “I see you’re as one-track-minded as ever, Shizu-chan, I don’t suppose you just want to talk about this?” Izaya’s grin grew wider; Shizuo never had intentions to just ‘talk.’ He chuckled at the dumbfounded expression from Tom and then glanced around them; most bystanders had stopped to regard the blond’s fury with absolute shock, to them, it looked like Shizuo had just exploded with anger for the mere sake of – nothing. _Moron, he probably hasn’t even noticed his audience; then again, when it comes to me, he doesn’t see anything else._ Izaya suddenly swerved on his heel and sprinted away; he tilted his head back in time to see the blond predictably start to chase him – with the sign, of course. 

“Get the hell out of Ikebukuro!!” Shizuo bellowed after him, leaving an extremely surprised Tom staring after him.

Tom scratched the side of his head, and his expression became one of concern for a moment. “I know he has this sixth sense when it comes to Orihara, but – I couldn’t see him anywhere, and it was almost as if Shizuo was looking right at him.” Tom sighed and placed his hands in his pockets, wondering how the hell he was going to explain this one to their boss. 

Izaya grinned as he jumped over the sign Shizuo had been holding when it came crashing at his feet. His eyes were wide with excitement, and for just a moment, he forgot his predicament, and everything was as it should be. Izaya chuckled at the obscenities coming from Shizuo’s mouth as he avoided another projectile, still unsure why he even tried to avoid them at all in this case. They turned off quickly into an alleyway, and before Shizuo could lunge for him, Izaya jumped and swung himself over a balcony before pitching himself up onto the roof. The raven glanced down and wasn’t surprised to see Shizuo mimicking his movements to follow him, but he had no desire to taunt him this time, he needed time to think. Izaya turned quickly and dashed over to the next rooftop before Shizuo had even reached the first and disappeared from the blond’s sight. 

“Izayaaaaa!!” 

Izaya huffed and pressed himself to the wall of the roof he had escaped to, hands on his knees as though he were breathless from the chase. Izaya frowned; now that he was alone, his mind focused on the task presented to him. Why! Of all the people he had contact with, why did it have to be Shizuo! Izaya crouched low, and his hands came up to grasp at his hair. “This is impossible, I’m screwed.” A sardonic laugh escaped him as he inclined his head toward the starless sky; he could sense Aya’s presence beside him but didn’t turn to acknowledge her. “Is that why you helped me? because you knew I couldn’t complete the task anyway, that what awaited me was punishment enough without the threat of hell?”

Aya frowned and knelt beside him, shifting so she could sit on the edge of the roof and let her legs dangle next to his. “No, Izaya, I told you I have faith in you.”

Izaya propped one knee up to his chest to rest his chin on the cross of his hands. “It’s fine. It doesn’t matter anyway, we both know where I belong and if I have to spend my existence in the city where no can see me but my enemy to avoid that, then it’s a small price to pay.”

Aya shook her head, she was happy to see Izaya opening up to her, even if he hadn’t realized, but she wasn’t sure she liked seeing him like _this_. For the first time since she took him under her wing – so to speak, he had shown confidence and was exceptionally optimistic, and despite his little fun, he knew the consequences. Now, he looked like he had already given up, and that, she wouldn’t allow. _Maybe I should have told him,_ she thought regretfully. Aya knew she couldn’t break that rule, she couldn’t give special treatment to one individual, she had to be detached to an extent, but – he was different to all the others she’d helped. 

“I hate him, I hate him so much,” Izaya spoke softly, and Aya watched him stand up, placing his hands in his pockets. “Looks like he’s won, too bad for him that he doesn’t even know it.”

Aya’s eyes narrowed, and she jumped to her feet to grab Izaya by his shirt. The raven gasped lightly as she forced him to face her, she was angry now. “Don’t you dare! Don’t you dare give up Izaya, I would not have helped you if I didn’t believe you could do this! You can, I know you can.”

Izaya reached up to push her hand away and stepped back. “Do you realize the situation I’m in? We are mortal enemies, I’m not going to change my opinion of him, and he most certainly won’t change his mind about me.”

Aya shook her head. “Not unless you show him.”

Izaya chuckled because his circumstances were just too funny. “You think it’s just that easy? Even if _I_ change my opinions, someone like Shizu-chan can hold a grudge for eternity, he hates my guts, and nothing will ever shift that.” 

Aya sighed; she understood the point he was trying to make, and she knew the reasons behind his hasty submission, it did look quite impossible. “Izaya, unfortunately, you don’t have a choice in this, he is the one and I can’t do anything to change that, you will have to find a way to make it work.”

Izaya shifted his attention to the city streets below. “I thought I didn’t have limited time.”

Aya knew what he was thinking, mostly because she could literally read his mind, but she didn’t need that ability to understand his intentions. “No, but – do you really want to spend your whole existence down here where no one else can see you? Eventually, it will get extremely lonely, and you might as well just be stuck inside your representative soul. Is that what you really want?”

Izaya tensed, his hands coming out of his pockets to clench into fists by his side. “I just can’t do this.”

Aya grabbed his wrist so that he would look at her again. “Yes, you can! Izaya, you have already proved to me, to yourself, and to those who know you that you are willing to make a difference, to change, show that to him.”

Izaya yanked his hand away, a frown on his face now. “But they don’t know it’s me, so what use is that, and he won’t believe a single word I say anyway, he can’t be swayed by reason, it’s always been violence first, ponder the consequences later. Although he probably doesn’t even do that, at least, not with me anyway.”

Aya just wanted to smack the stubbornness out of him! She grabbed him by both shoulders this time and shook him. “Make him see, Izaya! No one else knows it’s you, but Shizuo will! Find a way to prove it to him!”

Izaya huffed a laugh, her persistence was quite comical. “Even if I could find a way to talk to him, he’s not going to accept me if he knows it’s going to help me ‘move on.’” Once again, Izaya reached up to push her off gently, and although he tried his best to act like he wasn’t fazed by his own words, he was sure she saw through him. 

“Izaya, you have time, plenty of it, you can do this. He won’t have no choice but to listen now; he can’t physically hurt you, and if you stop running away, he’ll see the truth.” Aya smiled at him. “Be persistent, I’m sure you can do that, he can’t make you leave, right?” A sudden grin formed on his face; Aya frowned and flicked him on the forehead. “And that is not a free pass to annoy him all the time either.”

Izaya’s grin remained, and he tilted his head with a hunch of his shoulders. “Aww, not even just a little bit?”

Aya huffed and rolled her eyes. “It’s probably inevitable, and I suppose you might do so out of habit since neither of you gets along…just try your best, Izaya. Who knows, maybe you could get to know each other for once.”

An annoyed expression appeared on the raven’s face, and he couldn’t help but snort at her suggestion. “I gave him that chance when Shinra introduced us in high school, and he tried to punch me.”

Aya chuckled and shoved him lightly. “Perhaps if you didn’t clap at his violent disposition, he might not have.”

Izaya hopped off the edge of the roof and pressed his back to the wall. “Whatever. All I need from him is a truce, a way to make amends, and that’s it, we don’t need to be friends.” He couldn’t help the sigh that passed his lips as he looked up at the dark sky once more. “That opportunity passed a long time ago.”

Aya watched him for a moment; she suspected that was the first time he had ever expressed his true feelings toward Shizuo, and she smiled. _He can do this,_ she thought and stepped in front of him. “Good luck. You’ll be fine.” 

Izaya watched her disappear and sighed with annoyance at his lack of discretion. “What’s wrong with me, this whole being dead thing really isn’t good for my reputation.” He huffed a laugh as if he needed to worry about his reputation anymore. Izaya pushed off the wall and groaned in dismay at the prospect of his future endeavors. “Here goes nothing.”

………………………………

Shizuo growled to himself as he climbed the stairs of his apartment building. That damn flea was in the city again! With gritted teeth, he pulled out his key, trying to calm down; he couldn’t afford another replacement. _He was right there! I could have fucking strangled him!_ Izaya had been daring today, rarely did he ever allow such close proximity between them, the raven always made sure to remain at a running distance when starting fights with him. _So what the hell was he trying to pull back there…?_ Shizuo pushed the key into the lock, and the door swung up from his aggressive treatment. 

The moment he stepped into the living room, his anger returned instantly, his fists clenched, and a deep frown etched on his face. “What the-” Nah, it couldn’t be – Izaya would not risk setting foot in his apartment, surely. _He’s fricking dead if I catch him in here, I’ll beat the shit out of him._ Shizuo bared his teeth as his hand skimmed the wall until it reached the light switch, with a flick of his wrist the room brightened. Not a flea in sight. Shizuo sighed and swiped a hand through his hair in frustration, of course the flea wasn’t here, the pest wasn’t that audacious. “Dammit,” he muttered before sauntering into the kitchen. 

“Your instincts are pretty impressive, Shizu-chan.”

Shizuo’s eyes widened, and he quickly fumbled for the light switch, only to frown with agitation, his kitchen was empty too! “Shit, I can’t be that paranoid, that damn flea is not in my apartment.” Shizuo stepped into the kitchen and began to take out items from his cupboard to make cocoa. “I need a vacation.” 

“Are you so obsessed with me that you imagine me showing up in your apartment? Some people might find that sort of flattering, but I have to say, it’s disconcerting.”

_**Crack.** _

The mug in Shizuo’s hand shattered, his body tensed, and he released the shards before slowly turning to face the intruder with extreme suppressed rage. Izaya Orihara was stood in his apartment! He knew it! The bastard was standing in his fricking kitchen doorway and – and he was grinning! “Izayaaaa! You louse, I’ll kill you!” Shizuo lunged forward and grasped the round breakfast table in the center of his kitchen and lifted it above his head. “Get the hell out of my apartment flea!!”

Izaya stepped back out of instinct and jumped to the side when the table came flying toward him. The wood splintered and snapped into three pieces against the wall, Shizuo darted forward and jumped over the wreckage and into his living room. Izaya stood on the opposite side, hands now in the air in what Shizuo might have guessed was some attempt at surrender if he wasn’t so angry. The blond reached for the couch next, grunting at the difference in weight compared to the table, though he still lifted the object with ease. 

Izaya knew from the second he arrived that this was probably a bad idea, but it was the only chance he might have to force Shizuo into a conversation. “Before you throw that at me, I assume you would prefer not to destroy your own apartment, that’s why I’m here, I had a better chance of you controlling your anger if we were here.” Izaya shifted a few feet to the left, out of the line of fire, and came to the blond’s side. “I only want to talk.” While it was true, he was suppressing his own disgusted emotions because the mere thought of trying to have a civil conversation with his enemy made him want to puke, he was better at hiding it. Izaya hated to admit it, but without Shizuo, he couldn’t ever hope to pass from this world peacefully; they needed to find some common ground, and Izaya didn’t care if it took time, he was in no hurry. 

Shizuo bared his teeth at the raven now standing beside him, and threw the couch back into place, eyes narrowed. “You – you want to talk! I’ll fucking kill you for even stepping one foot in my apartment, there will be no talking! Just my fists breaking every bone in your goddamn body!”

Izaya jumped back a few paces before Shizuo had the opportunity to lunge at him. “You can certainly try if you want,” he said calmly, and then his voice dropped to almost a whisper. “But, I’m already dead, Shizu-chan.” Izaya knew the blond had heard him, he glanced up and watched the expression of confusion form across his face. 

“……………”

Izaya tilted his head when Shizuo failed to reply. _Maybe I broke him._ Before he opened his mouth to offer another explanation, a sudden deep laugh erupted from the blond’s throat until it turned into full-blown hysterics. _I really broke him._ Izaya took a tentative step forward, raising his hand slightly as if to snap him out of it. “Shizu-chan?”

After another minute, Shizuo calmed down, and even though he continued to chuckle, there was a prominent vein throbbing on his forehead as an indication of his remaining rage. “I have to admit, that’s certainly new; didn’t know you were capable of spouting even more bullshit than you already do.”

Ah. Izaya rolled his eyes when he realized Shizuo hadn’t believed him. “It’s the truth, I’m not lying, and I can prove it.”

Shizuo gritted his teeth, he’d had enough, but he didn’t want to break his furniture, even if it was to hurt his enemy. Shizuo growled and pushed his sleeves up to his elbows before a smirk tugged at his mouth. “You’ll be dead once I’m done with you.”

Izaya huffed in annoyance before stepping back once more. _What a brute; I can’t believe I have to protect this monster._ “Let me prove it, and if you still don’t believe me, I will leave you alone and never set foot in Ikebukuro again.”

Shizuo narrowed his eyes, and the smirk faded. “Like I’m going to believe anything you tell me, but I will make sure you don’t come back.”

Izaya curled his hands into fists, he was getting irritated now, his calm composure wasn’t breaking considerably. He watched Shizuo’s smirk return and wished he could punch it right off his face!

“It’s quite entertaining to take that confident smug attitude away for once, something wrong, flea?” 

Izaya couldn’t help but grit his teeth, how dare Shizuo taunt him! _I should leave before I do something I’ll regret, I can’t afford to slip up._ Unfortunately, this was the closest he had gotten to a civil conversation. Izaya sighed and unclenched his hands and spread his arms out, he was going to try one last time, for now at least. “Shizuo,” he started, using his correct name was a good start. “You can hit me, as hard as you can, and I won’t move an inch, nor will I attempt to block it. I also have no weapons either.” Izaya slid off his jacket and discarded it to the side and returned to his previous position. 

Shizuo gritted his teeth. “Tch. Like hell. You’re insane. We both know if I used my full strength to hit you, then you won’t be walking out of here, you wouldn’t take that chance so stop acting creepy and use your damn knife, just give me a reason to smash your face in.”

Izaya flashed him a small grin. “What, breaking and entering isn’t a good enough reason? Also, we’re in Ikebukuro, and that’s always a good enough reason in your mind, right?” Izaya placed his arms behind his back. “So come on, Shizu-chan, I’m offering a free shot at full strength, I suggest you take it.”

Shizuo curled his hand into a fist but remained grounded. “Two questions flea, one: why are you acting like this, and is this just another damn scheme of yours, two: if I do hit you and I believe you, what then?”

Izaya hummed a response and placed his hands in his pants pockets. “First of all, that is three questions.”

Shizuo slammed his foot down with a loud growl. “Shut the hell up! Just answer me before I really kick your ass.”

Izaya lifted his hands out in surrender. “Fine fine. I’m not ‘acting’ anything, for once this isn’t something I’ve planned, and also, I will explain those reasons soon. Now, if you would be so kind, hit me so we can move on to more prominent issues.”

Shizuo grunted in surprise, Izaya was skilled in the art of deceit, this had to be a trick. He glanced at the discarded jacket, knowing that’s where the raven kept his knives. _What if he’s telling the truth? But – if he is dead, then – would I be even able to hit him?_ His attention shifted to his enemy once more. Whether or not he believed in ghosts wasn’t important, it was getting this damn flea out of his apartment, and if that meant playing along with his stupid plans, then he’d suck it up. _I’ll get to hit him, at least._ “Fine,” he said, “if you’re so keen on getting a broken jaw, then I’ll humor you.” 

Izaya flashed him a toothy grin. “Give me your best shot.” Despite his confidence, there was a concern because what if Shizuo really could hit him? Not only would his plan to prove the situation fail, but it would also fucking hurt! 

Shizuo took a step forward, then another, and another. He stopped with at least three feet away from Izaya, enough distance to cover the lunge and the blow. Izaya still hadn’t moved. “You’re really just going to stand there?”

Izaya rolled his eyes, he was tired of repeating himself, and the anger got the better of him. “Will you just take a swing at me! How can I make it any clearer for your simple mind to understand, you stupid brute!”

Shizuo’s eyes widened with anger then, and he no longer hesitated; he pulled back his fist and lunged forward. 

Izaya couldn’t help flinching, even as Shizuo’s fist made no connection to his face. Izaya peered up at the blond with curiosity, and the sight was comical, Shizuo looked ready to pass out. “Now do you believe me?”

Shizuo jumped back from Izaya as if the man had burned him, no way, no way was this real! But his fist – it went straight through! “Then – you really are dead?” Izaya could only nod, not quite used to hearing those words yet. 

Although Izaya half expected it, he couldn’t help feeling slightly offended when a smile crossed the blond’s face, and the man erupted once again with laughter. He gritted his teeth and moved to take a seat on the couch, he leaned on his elbows, hunched over his knees as he glared up at the blond. “Are you done?” he asked when Shizuo started to calm down. 

Shizuo turned on his heel to regard Izaya with a grin. “I can’t believe it, someone actually managed to wipe you out, that’s – pretty impressive.”

Izaya sneered at him. “Laughing at someone who tells you they’re dead is not a normal reaction.”

Shizuo began laughing again. “It is when that person is your enemy! Although that was supposed to be a compliment to you, all those times that I tried to kill you, and finally, someone succeeds! I should be celebrating.” Shizuo’s laughter died off once more when he heard Izaya huff. “You can’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same thing, you’d dance on my grave if I died.”

Izaya smiled then, he shrugged and leaned back on the couch. “You’re probably right about that.”

Shizuo frowned slightly at the casual gesture. “Get the fuck off my couch, flea.” 

The raven’s smile shifted into a grin. “Make me.”

Shizuo gritted his teeth and knelt down. “I might not be able to touch you, but I can still fling this couch with you on it.”

Izaya rolled his eyes and stood up. “Happy now?”

Shizuo came face to face with him and glared. “Now, get the hell out.”

“You said you would hear me out, I’m not leaving until you do.”

Shizuo twirled around and stomped over to the door. “Fine, then I’ll leave!” 

Izaya quickly jogged over. “I’ll just follow you.” Before Shizuo could open the door, Izaya grabbed his wrist. “Shizuo, listen!” Shizuo stilled and turned to face him, a slightly surprised expression showing. Izaya sighed and released his wrist. “Hear me out, would you? You already believe that I’m dead, so you know I’m not going to gain anything by lying.”

Shizuo frowned, and for a moment, Izaya thought he was going to leave anyway, but then the blond gestured back toward the couch. Izaya followed him, and they sat opposite ends. “You’ve got my attention, and I can’t hit you, so – talk.”


	6. Convincing Shizu-chan, part 2.

Shizuo stared blankly at his enemy for several minutes. Izaya had finished explaining his situation, and he was having a hard time comprehending any of it. The blond was skeptical; even if he couldn't hit Izaya, he still remained in disbelief. The only thing he was able to understand was that Izaya had come to him because he couldn't move on without him, and that was just too funny. What the hell was going through Izaya's head when he thought he'd actually have a snowball's chance in hell of succeeding in gaining his forgiveness? Why him anyway, he was quite sure that there were others that Izaya had messed with. Although now he thought about it, Izaya hadn't been given the choice of whom his human would be, because if he did, Shizuo would bet his life that he would not have been Izaya's first choice – or even his last for that matter. 

"Will you say something already?"

Shizuo regarded Izaya with a frown, the raven was no longer sitting on his couch, he was stood beside the window, glancing down to the streets every so often. _I should earn a reward just for being in the same room with him this long,_ he thought offhandedly before he realized that it was only due to Izaya's status he could achieve it. _At least my couch is intact._ A deeper frown etched on his face when he thought about his kitchen table. "You owe me a new table," he said aloud. 

Izaya rolled his eyes and huffed, placing his hands back in his jacket that was now back over his small frame. "I just gave you a pretty long explanation about our current situation, and that's the first thing you can say? I didn't know you were _this_ simple-minded." Izaya tilted his head with a small grin. "Should I have used smaller words, is that why you're not responding?" Even though he was supposed to be making amends with Shizuo, he couldn't help but tease him, the blond was infuriating. 

Shizuo growled at him, and Izaya's grin widened. "Shut the hell up. It's your fault my table is in pieces; therefore, you owe me a table."

Izaya glanced back outside, the streets were becoming empty now, and he had to wonder how late it was. "Take the money out of my insurance," he said as if he wasn't actually paying attention to their conversation. 

Shizuo gritted his teeth, was Izaya deliberately ignoring him? Hell no! "Oi flea, would you stop gawking out the damn window and pay attention, we're not finished."

Izaya looked back at Shizuo in mild surprise, and then a smile of amusement tugged on his lips. "Shizu-chan hates being ignored I see, you're like a child when you demand attention like that."

Shizuo stood up and stalked over to the raven, placing his palm flat on the wall beside Izaya's head and leaned in close. "Go to hell," he gritted out.

Izaya ignored Shizuo's attempts to appear threatening even though he couldn't do anything to him, because little did the blond know, his words were more effective than his actions right now. "I've already been there," he admitted without thinking. Izaya's eyes darted to the side to avoid Shizuo's gaze, it wasn't as if he could simply escape the entrapment by walking through him. To his relief, Shizuo stepped back from him and gave them both space.

Shizuo suddenly turned away from him and sauntered into the kitchen. 

Izaya frowned, but his curiosity caused him to follow, and when he stepped into the kitchen, Shizuo was picking up the broken table pieces. Izaya leaned against the doorframe and almost chuckled at the sight of him because he knew Shizuo was trying to figure out if he could repair the table. "It's in three pieces, Shizu-chan, not even the strongest glue could repair it."

Shizuo narrowed his eyes and directed his glare up at Izaya once more. "It's your fault," he repeated.

Izaya shrugged. "You threw the table, not me."

Shizuo jumped to his feet. "You were in my apartment! What else was I supposed to do!"

Izaya chuckled. "Perhaps if you had better control of your temper, you wouldn't throw so many objects at people; therefore, protecting your own personal belongings would be a lot easier."

Shizuo curled his fists. "Shut up! You deserve nothing but objects thrown at you! just like you deserve this!" Shizuo raised his hand to gesture to Izaya's predicament. 

Izaya closed his mouth, and a small frown furrowed on his face. 

Shizuo clicked his tongue when his phone broke the silence that had formed between them once more. Shizuo pulled his phone from his pocket and grunted a greeting, frowning when Izaya rolled his eyes. "Seriously? You know I'm not good at social gatherings, they'd have a better time without me." Shizuo glanced up at Izaya and felt awkward, admitting such personal feelings in front of his enemy, he moved out of the kitchen and down the small hallway and slammed the door to his bedroom. 

After a couple of minutes, Shizuo emerged from the bedroom and was surprised to find Izaya in the living room. "Didn't know you understood the meaning of a private phone call," he said before he slipped on his shoes. 

Izaya leaned off the back of the couch to walk toward the blond. "You can hardly call a phone call with Tom-san private. Where are you going?" 

Shizuo ignored the previous comment and seized his keys from the bowl beside the door. "Out."

Izaya tilted his head. "It's almost ten, I didn't know you collected debts this late."

Shizuo gritted his teeth, but when he looked at Izaya, he realized the man was serious as if he didn't do anything else apart from collect debts with Tom. For some reason, this made him angrier. "If you must know, I do have some kind of life outside of my job."

Izaya blinked in surprise and moved to follow the blond out of the door. "Seriously? You're actually going out for fun?"

Shizuo slammed the door shut and locked it. "As much as you like to think I have no friends, yes, I do have a social life – more so than you, I imagine." 

Shizuo stormed down the corridor, and Izaya jogged to catch up, finally falling in step with him. "I have an excellent social life."

The two walked the first flight of stairs in silence, and then Shizuo spoke again. "First of all: It's _had,_ and secondly: let me rephrase my sentence, I have a social life that involves actual friends, unlike you."

Izaya pouted. "That's harsh. I have friends."

Shizuo laughed as they left the apartment complex. " _Had_ ," he repeated,"And no, you didn't, so don't kid yourself."

Izaya jogged slightly to remain at Shizuo's side, ignoring the fact they were having a conversation, never mind how insulting it was and huffed. "I had plenty of friends," he said, but he knew very well that wasn't true at all.

"Like the Yakuza? Or the thugs within the color gangs, or those kids from Raira?" Shizuo chuckled, "Please, every single one of them probably want you dead."

Izaya frowned. "Lucky them then."

Shizuo glanced at Izaya, who now had his gaze ahead of them, damn, he was not going to apologize for that! No way was he feeling bad for saying something that they both knew was true! "Why are you following me, I accepted the invitation to get the hell away from you." Shizuo shoved his hands in his pockets and walked faster, forcing himself to keep the smile of amusement off his face when Izaya tried his best to keep up with him. 

Izaya tried to forget about the ache in his chest caused by their previous conversation and how Shizuo's sudden switch of it might have indicated some form of guilt. _Like that would ever happen._ "Encase you haven't realized, I _can't_ leave your side, I can't leave you alone until you forgive me, and we make amends."

Shizuo stopped and turned to face him. "If that's what it takes to get you out of my life, then I forgive you! Now get lost!"

Izaya rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue. "Well, obviously you don't mean it, so that won't work."

A vein appeared on Shizuo's forehead. "You're right, I didn't mean it, and I never will! If you think for one moment I would forgive you, especially if it will help you, then you really are fucking arrogant."

Izaya's eyes followed Shizuo with a glare as the man continued to stroll down the street. Luckily for the blond, there were no people around to see him shout at what would have looked like nothing, he doubted Shizuo even considered how insane it made him look. Izaya caught up to Shizuo once more; honestly, he wasn't sure why he bothered, Shizuo had made it clear already that he wasn't going to forgive him. 

"Go away," Shizuo gritted out more quietly than before now that they were on a busy street. 

The more Shizuo pushed him away, Izaya felt more determined, mainly because he knew how much he was annoying the blond. "No, I think I'll stick around, it's quite fun."

Shizuo stopped suddenly with a heavy sigh. "Seriously, Izaya, why are you doing this?"

Izaya blinked in confusion at the sudden seriousness in Shizuo's voice. "I told you, I can't move on peacefully otherwise, and I don't have a choice."

Shizuo frowned at him. "Your actions are still going to be selfish regardless."

Izaya tilted his head. "How so?"

"You're only doing this to save yourself; if none of this happened to you, no way would you even consider trying to make amends with me." Shizuo peered up at the sign and realized they were at his destination. "By the way, I don't need protecting, especially from a scrawny flea like you."

Izaya sneered. "Now who's being arrogant." He wasn't going to make a comment to Shizuo's first statement, the blond didn't deserve his honesty. 

Shizuo narrowed his eyes. "That's not what I meant, besides, like you would even save me from anything, in fact, you wouldn't save anyone voluntarily if you couldn't get anything back in return." The blond then turned for the door.

With a glare, Izaya looked up at the sign, and his face lost some of the anger. "You're going into a karaoke bar?"

Shizuo swerved on his heel. "So what."

Izaya folded his arms. "Although it would be amusing, I'm not going to sit and watch you make a complete fool of yourself as you get plastered." He then turned away. "See you back at your apartment, Shizu-chan, enjoy your ridiculous attempts to prove you're a human." Izaya wasn't going to admit that he didn't want to follow Shizuo because of the envy he would feel watching the blond have genuine fun with people he actually knew. 

Shizuo raised an eyebrow, for once not biting back at the insult Izaya clearly just threw at him, instead, a grin formed. "All right, see ya." Before he opened the door, he added, "Who knows, I might get into trouble if I get too drunk and no one is there to watch me. I just thought that since you _have to_ protect me and all, you would remain at my side. I mean, you did follow me all the way here with that adamant thought process, didn't you?"

Izaya turned to face Shizuo with a frown, no way in hell was Shizuo goading him, he refused to take the bait. "If you want to get drunk and poison your body, then go right ahead, that's not my problem."

Shizuo's grin widened, and he shrugged. "Okay."

Izaya watched him disappear into the building. "Idiot," he muttered, trying to remain stubborn. "If Shizu-chan gets into trouble, then it will be his own fault, he won't be able to pin the blame on me this time." Just as Izaya was about to head back to Shizuo's apartment, he sighed in frustration. Even though he knew nothing could harm the brute, Izaya couldn't help but feel responsible for him, if something _did_ happen, it wouldn't just be Shizuo in trouble. Izaya didn't know much about guardian angels, but he was sure that whatever Shizuo did from now on would affect him one way or another. So what if Shizuo was right when he said that his actions were selfish. "Dammit," he muttered and let out another sigh before entering the bar. 

…………………………..

Izaya was getting extremely annoyed with the ridiculous display; honestly, it was extremely humiliating, more so for him than Shizuo. The whole of Kadota's group was here, Tom, a couple of what he assumed was their work colleagues; even those two high school brats were here! Mikado and Masaomi, and they weren't even of legal age! Though Izaya noticed they stayed away from consuming any alcohol. Izaya was sure that they were scared of Shizuo, so why the hell were they here acting like his damn friends! He couldn't speak for Mikado, but he'd known Masaomi a hell of a lot longer than Shizuo had, and even though they weren't friends, Izaya couldn't help but feel genuinely envious. Izaya was stood to the side, watching Shizuo with narrowed eyes the entire time, watching how the blond got more intoxicated with every drink he consumed. 

At first, Izaya was rather impressed at the amount of alcohol Shizuo consumed before he got to this embarrassing stage, now he was beginning to get frustrated. 

"Come on, Shizuo! Sing a song already!" a very drunk Tom announced to his friend.

Izaya shook his head, they were all idiots, he didn't even know why the hell he was jealous. Izaya's eyes flitted back to Shizuo, and to his surprise, the blond stumbled over to the screen and fumbled with the remote. This entire time, Shizuo had refused outright to act on the last part that would keep his dignity, and Izaya had almost respected that. Now, it seemed as though Shizuo had consumed too much alcohol to even care anymore. "I can't believe I expected more from you," he muttered to himself, though no one could hear him anyway, and Shizuo was too far gone to acknowledge him; in fact, Izaya was quite sure that the blond had forgotten he was even here. When Shizuo finally decided on a song, Izaya cringed when he thought that standing on the table with the mic was an even better idea. "I hope you fall and break something, preferably your neck." 

The song began to play, and Izaya wondered if Shizuo knew what he was doing, Izaya didn't recognize the song, and he was sure the blond didn't either, and then – 

"I wrote this song about you," Shizuo's voice began loudly. "I wrote this song about you."

Izaya frowned slightly when he caught Shizuo's eyes on him. 

"Just to let you know that I hate your guts, and I think you suck."

Izaya's eyes widened. _Son of a bitch._

"I wrote this song about you, I wrote this song about you. Just to let you know that I hate your guts, and I think you suck!"

Izaya glared and curled his fist. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

Shizuo seemed as if he might be having way too much fun with this, knowing just who he was singing about. To make it worse, Masaomi decided to join in, and his voice followed after each of Shizuo's lines. "I hate the way you look!"

"You make me sick!"

"I hate the way you talk!" 

"I want to punch you in the face!"

"I can't stand you at all!"

"You drive me insane!"

"Why won't you go away…" 

"I wrote this song about you, I wrote this song about you. Just to let you know that I hate your guts, and I think you suck!"

Izaya wanted to push them both right off the table. Shizuo had been rubbing it in his face all night about having friends, and now, now he was just blatantly humiliating him in front of them all! and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. "I've had all I can take from this shit." Just as Izaya moved to leave and opened the door to the exit – 

Shizuo's voice bellowed louder. "This is your song! Congratulations! You're the inspiration, I hate you so much! That I wrote this song! Congratulations! You're immortalized! I hate you so much! I hope you fuckin diiiiiiie!!"

**Crash.**

The table split from underneath them when Shizuo slammed his foot to emphasize the last lyrics. Not that it was in no way enough to spoil their fun, they even laughed!

Izaya had never been so annoyed and humiliated in his life! To hell with Shizuo, the blond could get jumped, stabbed, shot, or run over for all he cared. Izaya narrowed his eyes when Shizuo tried to lock eyes with him, his focus was all over the place as he stumbled forward only to land flat on his face. Izaya shook his head, if it weren't for the fact that he was angry, he would have laughed his ass off at the display. 

Shizuo quickly stumbled to his feet and reached out for the raven, his words slurring. "-Zaya – stu – flea…." 

The others in the bar remained where they were and blinked in confusion as Shizuo suddenly left them without realizing. Masaomi tilted his head as he stepped over the broken table, then he laughed. "I bet that song riled him up, and now he's off to kick Izaya's ass into next week."

Mikado hunched his shoulders. "Shouldn't we follow him? Or called him a cab or something?"

The young blond waved his hand dismissively. "Nah. Shizuo doesn't need help from us, he can totally handle it." Masaomi glanced over at Tom. "Right?"

Tom nodded.

Izaya walked down the street with his frown still present, he could hear the fumbling footsteps behind him and knew that Shizuo was trying to follow. 

"Oi!" he heard the blond shout. "Flea…told you – tay – of Ikebukuro."

Izaya rolled his eyes and turned to face the display that was Shizuo's walking. "You actually think you're any kind of threat right now?"

Shizuo frowned when he finally reached Izaya. "-gonna – kill – stupid – ass."

Izaya sighed. "You're not even making sense, I can't even tease you because it's actually painful to watch you."

"Oh! Look it, it's that scary-ass bartender dude…"

Izaya and Shizuo turned their attention toward four guys that were stood at the entrance of a park. Izaya groaned in dismay, he wasn't in the mood for these idiots, they were obviously from the yellow scarves, and were even more loaded than Shizuo it seemed. Izaya's eyes widened as he watched Shizuo stumble over to them, anger quickly taking over some of his alcohol influenced mind. "Shizu-chan don't-” Shizuo was already halfway over to them, and Izaya huffed with his hands in his pockets. "If he thinks I'm helping him after that little scenario back there, he's terribly mistaken."

"Are you sure?"

Izaya frowned and glanced to see Aya beside him, her sudden appearance didn't bother him anymore, he wasn't even surprised. "He doesn't deserve my help."

Aya chuckled. "Who knows what might happen, I mean, he might get hurt."

Izaya knew she was trying to convince him. "I'm not saying this because of admiration, just a fact. Shizu-chan can't get hurt, not like a normal human being, which is why he's a monster."

Aya shrugged. "Okay. Perhaps then, he could get arrested, and then you really would be screwed."

Izaya clicked his tongue. "What difference would it make, it's not like I would be the cause of it; Shizuo going to prison wouldn't affect my circumstances."

Aya walked in front of him. "Maybe not, but what if accidentally kills one of them? He is pretty drunk, and if he goes to prison for murder, how will you make amends when you can't walk through walls to see him?" Izaya watched a grin form on her face and knew she had won the argument. 

Izaya sighed and pushed past her to run to Shizuo, who was now right in front of the group of thugs. He couldn't help but become annoyed that Shizuo had been proven right once again, how was he supposed to make this work if he had to be convinced to assist in the first place? Izaya knew he couldn't keep acting on selfish intents for much longer, but damn it, he was trying his hardest to see Shizuo in a different light, and he just ended up being even more irritated with him. 

"Wanna repeat that?" shouted Shizuo as he picked up one of the guys by the shirt, a fist raised. 

Izaya grabbed Shizuo's wrist, which caused him to drop the fearful looking man and drag him away. "You owe me for this," he said and continued to lead Shizuo down the street, despite the blond's awful attempts to stop him. 

"Lemme go – stupid flea…leading me – a trap – what are you doing?"

Izaya shook his head at the contradictive sentence and frowned. "Stopping you before you get us both into trouble. You'll thank me in the morning."

"Pfft." Shizuo was too drunk to care that his enemy was quite literally dragging him home and made no other protests except to complain about maybe wanting to throw up once or twice. 

By the time they got home, Izaya was practically holding Shizuo up with his arm around his own shoulder, listening to the blond's twaddle. 

"I hate you – Izaya…d'you know that?"

Izaya sighed and almost tripped when Shizuo stumbled forward. "Yes, I did."

Shizuo placed a finger to his lips. "But don't tell anyone…shhh, it's a secret."

Izaya was beginning to get a headache, or he imagined he would be if he were alive – could he even get headaches? Well, it certainly felt like it at the moment. "Trust me, Shizu-chan, even if they didn't, after your little display, I'm quite positive everyone knows."

Shizuo made a dramatic gasp. "Who told them?"

Izaya didn't know whether to be frustrated or – no, he really was just frustrated. _How did I end up becoming this brute’s babysitter?_ "I will hate you more than I did before if you puke on me."

They finally reached Shizuo's door, and after a few painful seconds of watching the blond try to open it, Izaya snatched the key and let them both in. Izaya dragged Shizuo toward the bedroom and, as gently as he could, plonked him across the bed. Shizuo landed on his back with his legs dangling over the edge. "Thank god no one could see me," he muttered and refused to overthink his next action as he knelt to slip Shizuo's shoes off and move him into a better position. "I really hate you."

With reasons he couldn't fathom, Izaya decided it was better to wait until Shizuo fell asleep before he left him alone for the night. The raven perched on the edge of the blond's window ledge and pushed it open to let in a breeze, telling himself it was to see the city better when it was really for the blond's benefit. 

"-Zaya…"

Izaya glanced over at the slur of his name being called. "What."

"We're enemies, d'you know that?"

Izaya pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes."

"Don't tell Izaya…he'll get mad."

"I'm quite certain he already is, and he's going to knock you out if you don't sleep."

Shizuo laughed. "Pfft, he can't – too skinny."

Izaya closed his eyes and tried to count backward from ten. 

"Skinny skinny skinny…"

_I'm so going to kill him,_ Izaya thought with a grit of his teeth. "Please, Shizu-chan, please go to sleep, so I don't end up in hell for killing you."

Shizuo shifted in the bed and sighed. "K; can't chase you if you got to hell, can I?"

Izaya sighed. "No."

There was a moment of silence, and Izaya thought Shizuo had finally crashed when – 

"If you leave me now – you'll take away the biggest part of me!"

Fuck. "Shizu-chan – seriously, shut up."

"Ooooo, no! fleabag, please don't gooooo."

Izaya wondered how Shizuo could actually make up his own words while in this state, but it didn't make it any less annoying. 

"Cause hate like ours is hate that's hard to fiiiiind. How could we let it slip awaaaay?"

Part of Izaya's frown was starting to disappear as he looked at Shizuo's silhouette on the bed. Despite the drunk tone, he had a half-decent voice, and Izaya was suddenly becoming amused instead of angry. 

"We've come too far to leave it all behind! How could we end it all this waaaay!"

Izaya found himself smiling. _Idiot._

"When tomorrow comes, and we both regret the things we said today…"

Izaya noticed Shizuo's voice had trailed off and wondered if he really had gone to sleep now. The raven quietly left the window ledge and moved toward the door. 

"Izaya?"

Izaya huffed and turned back. "What now."

"Might regret this in – morning, but – I guess you're not so bad much…"

Izaya blinked in surprise, unsure how to take the offered half compliment, his hand tightened on the door handle before he closed it behind him. Izaya sighed and slouched against the door. "You too…."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own the two songs that were used. 
> 
> Your guts, I hate em - by Reel Big Fish, and Don't leave me this way by Chicago.
> 
> Ps: I know Shizuo might have been a little OOC, but omg I had such great fun writing drunk Shizuo! I hope you laughed as much as I did :D


End file.
